Quote:Wake Forest stifles feisty St. John's
Prosser calls Deacons 'warriors' in 12-point defeat of Red Storm

By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER

As advertised, St. John's proved yesterday against Wake Forest to be the kind of team that comes out and pounds an opponent on the chest just to see if there's anything inside.

And when a team checks your heart, as Coach Skip Prosser of the Deacons has said, it helps to have one.

Taking their pre-game warnings from Prosser to heart, the Deacons stood up to easily the quickest and most physical opponent so far this season and posted an impressive 84-72 victory in front of 10,173 at Joel Coliseum.

They outrebounded St. John's 49-31 and took control by holding the Red Storm to only three field goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half. But Prosser seemed proudest of the way his team - particularly the four freshmen who played - reacted to the toughness and aggression of Coach Mike Jarvis' team.

Wake Forest improved to 6-0, making a compelling case for a spot in next week's Top 25 poll. St. John's fell to 5-1.

"It's funny; I was standing there shaking hands with Mike prior to the start, and he said, `You know, Skip, you know it's going to be a war.' " Prosser said. "They always are, and I thought it was.

"And I was really proud of our guys, because I think they were warriors this afternoon."

Senior Josh Howard said the Deacons didn't see anything yesterday that they won't see night after night once ACC play begins. Howard finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, three assists, two steals and one healthy dose of respect for his newest teammates.

All four freshmen contributed, as the Deacons got 16 points and eight rebounds from center Eric Williams, 17 points and four rebounds from Justin Gray, five points and two rebounds from Trent Strickland and three points and five rebounds from Chris Ellis.

Sophomore Vytas Danelius chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, sophomore Jamaal Levy had nine points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Taron Downey compensated for a 1-for-10 shooting performance by dishing out six assists and committing just two turnovers in 35 minutes.

"It's a good feeling," Howard said. "It makes me know I'm not the only one out there playing tough, or playing hard. I've got guys who have my back, and I appreciate that.

"We can go far as long as we keep playing hard."

Williams overcame first-half foul trouble to score 12 of his points in the first 16 minutes of the second half while Wake Forest was extending a 43-40 halftime lead to 76-58. It was his back-to-back baskets (one of which he converted into a three-point play) that began the Deacons' 8-1 surge at the beginning of the second half.

"He's a big mother," Jarvis said. "He's a big boy.

"If you don't play him just right - at times we did and at times we didn't - then obviously he can hurt you. And when you've got a couple of guys who can shoot, it becomes an even more difficult task."

The compliment came on a day Williams likely won't soon forget. After playing maybe the best 20 minutes of his life, Williams learned after the game that his grandmother had died.

"I think we learned that when it comes down to it, we've got a lot of heart," Williams said.

The Deacons also learned that few guards in college basketball can get as hot as fast as Marcus Hatten of the Red Storm. Hatten, for the second straight season, scored 26 points against Wake Forest, but yesterday, unlike last season, he did the greatest damage in the early moments.

Nailing five of his first seven shots, Hatten scored 11 points in the opening 91/2 minutes as St. John's matched the Deacons basket for basket.

"I was like 'Holy ... Is he going to miss?' " Gray said. "I knew he was good. I had watched him. But I said, 'He is real good.'

"His team does a good job of running him off screens, and getting him open. He just knocked down the shots."

The two developments that turned the game in Wake Forest's favor at the start of the second half were Howard's tough defensive effort on Hatten and the impatience shown by the Red Storm.

With Howard attacking Hatten all over the court, once even knocking him to the floor on a foul, Hatten scored only three points in the first 71/2 minutes of the second half.

Elijah Ingram, St. John's freshman guard, also showed his impatience and made just 4 of 12 shots in the second half. He finished with 18 points.

"I think we got caught up in the moment of the game," Hatten said. "The game was such an up-and-down game, so we didn't think about setting our offense up. We were just taking the first shot that was available."

Jarvis said the early success eventually hurt his team.

"Tonight, unfortunately for us, we hit 3s early, and I think that's what killed us," he said. "I think psychologically our guys thought the 3s were going to just keep falling and falling and falling. We kept shooting them. But you learn.

"Tonight what happened was Marcus was ridiculous at the beginning of the game. He could have kicked the ball into the basket. It was just too easy for him. Then Elijah hit a couple early, and it was almost too easy for him.

"What they both needed to do was just recognize, 'That game's good, but we've got them in a situation now where they're in foul trouble. Let's get the ball inside and make some other things happen.' They'll learn."

The Deacons, in the most recent Associated Press poll, were fifth among the teams also receiving votes. Yesterday Prosser said the Deacons would welcome a berth in the new poll, to be released on Monday.

"I think it's good thing to be ranked," Prosser said. "It's not like on the first day of practice (a teams chants) "1-2-3, let's not get ranked.' You know what I mean?

"You work to get ranked. You work to be good. You work to win games. So we'll see what happens."

The Deacons appear to be a force for the rest of the ACC to contend with as conference play begins soon. Balanced scoring, smart defense, and best of all, serious "team" attitude are some of Wake's strong points so far.